Extrusion mill



y 1 E. T. MEAKIN 2,240,660

EXTRUS ION MILL Filed -Feb. 26, 1940 s Sheets-Sheet 1 IEIEZIL INVENTOR. ED AR 7. MEAK/N ATTORNEY.

Patented my 6, 1941 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 2,240,660 EXTRUSIONMILL Edgar T. Meakin, San Franciscm calif. Application February 26, 1940, Serial No. 320,783

18 Claims.

vision of an efficient structure for the formation of pellets from granular materials.

Other objects of my invention are: To provide in an extrusion mill employing a die ring and pressure roller, means for varying the spacing between said die ring and roller; to provide in such a device, means whereby breakage of parts is obviated in event the extrusion members become jammed; to provide in an extrusion mill employing a die ring and a plurality of extrusion rollers, improved means for simultaneously adjusting the position of the rollers with reference to the die ring; to provide in such a structure, improved means for distributing material upon the face of the die for extrusion; to provide in an extrusion mill having a vertically positioned die ring and an extrusion roller, means for receiving and directing material toward the converging faces of the die ring and roller; to provide an extrusion mill wherein maximum extrusion is obtained with minimum Power consumption; to provide. in an extrusion mill means for efficiently precluding access of the material to the bearings and other portions of the machine where damage may otherwise result therefrom; to provide in an extrusion mill a high- 1y satisfactory and efficient lubricating system, enabling'lubrication servicing without shut down. and which will prevent contamination of the product of the mill with lubricant; and to provide an extrusion mill of simple but rugged construction.

The invention possesses numerous additional objects and features of advantage, some of which,

together with the foregoing, will become apparent upon perusal of the following description of my invention. It is to be understood, however, that I do not limit myselfto this disclosure of the species of my invention, as I may adopt variant embodiments thereof within the scope of the,

and is taken in the plane indicated by the line 33 of such figure.

Figure 4 is a sectional view of the roller support with the rollers and a portion of the supporting shaft shown in elevation.

Figure 5 is a sectional view, partly in elevation, of one of the rollers and its mounting, the view being taken in the plane indicated by the line 5-5 of Figure 4.

Figure 6 is a plan view of the rollers and mountings and particularly stressing the lubrication system of this assembly.

Figure 7 is a rear end view of the shaft of Figure 6.

Figure 8 is a cross sectional view taken in the plane 8-8 of Figure 6.

Figure 91s a view in perspective of a feed guide element constituting an important feature of my improved mill.

In terms of broad inclusion, the structure of my invention comprises an annular perforated die ring and means preferably comprising rollers cooperative with the inner face of the die ring for extruding material'through the perforations thereof upon relative movement between the diering and rollers. Means is provided for causing such relative movement. Preferably, the die ring is rotated about the rollers, although it is within the scope of my invention to hold the die ring stationary and move the rollers around the inner face thereof. I prefer to support the die ring in a vertical position with the apertures or perforations thereof inclined at an angle with respect to the radii of the ring and in such manner as to incline toward the compression side of the rollers.

.of the die ring and one of'the rollers in the upper'portion of the extrusion chamber. A lubrication system is incorporated into the mill which will enable the roller assembly, located at the front of the mill, to be lubricated from a, point at the rear of the mill and'remote from those portions of the machine which handle the material to be extruded, without shut down of the machine or contamination of the material with lubricant. As an added feature, I provide scraping means for precluding packing of the material in portions of the extrusion chamber where it ordinarily would strain the roller assembly and otherwise place an unproductive load on the machine. Plows may be provided for leveling the material upon the face of the die ring, and suitable knives are supplied for severing the extruded strings of material into predetermined lengths to form pellets.

Referring to the drawings for a more detailed description of a particular mill embodying my invention in its preferred form, the construction involves a casing I having a front wall 3 and rear wall 5, each of which carries a bearing assembly with the bearings in alignment. Thefront wall bearing assembly 1 is permanently bolted thereto through a peripheral flange 9. The rear wall bearing H is supported within. a bearing sleeve l3 and is normally fixed against rotation by a shear pin I5 extending through a boss I! on the rear wall and engaging a shear pin flange I9 forming part of the bearing assembly.

Supported for rotation in the aforementioned bearings is a main drive sleeve 2| which extends beyond the front wall 3 and terminating in a die supporting and driving disk 23. This driving disk has an edge recess in the front face thereof adjacent its periphery to receive a'cylindrical die 21 having radial die openings 29 therethrough.

The die is rigidly held in position on the driving disk by a plurality of locking keys 3|, each having an inwardly directed flange 33 and 35 along each side edge thereof to engage a circumferential edge groove 31 on the driving disk, and a circumferential groove 39 about the rim of the die. The locking keys are fixed in position by screws 4| applied therethrough and threading into the rim of the driving disk 23.

.The die and driving disk assemblyforma die chamber 43 which is rotable by reason of the sleeve extension 2| supported in the bearings 1' sembly is supported upon a reduced end 19 of the shaft in abutment against a shaft shoulder formed in the reduction of this end of the shaft i on which the front end plate is mounted. Rigidity of assembly in the mounting of this front end plate .is obtained by providing the abutted portion of the shaft with diametrically opposed flat surfaces 8| and engaging such flat surfaces with parallel transverse ribs 83 formed integrally with the end plate. The spacing of the rollers from the main shaft is normally sufficient to bring them into cooperative relationship with the die, and thus enabling them to function in their intended manner.

As thus far described, itwill be noted that the roller assembly is fixed, while the die 21 is caused to rotate through the application of power to the main drive gear 41, thus bringing about the proper cooperation between the rollers and the die. It is of interest to note in this connection that, in as much as only the die is rotated, the apparatus is simplified tothe extent that no provision need be made for establishing a drive connection to the roller assembly.

The material to be molded is fedthrough the open end of the die chamber 43 by way of a conical shaped distributor 85 which is peripherally mounted upon the front edge of the die 21 and is thus caused to rotate with the die during operation of the mill. This conical shaped distributor has a central opening therein to receive the discharge end of a feed spout 91. During rotation of the die and conical shaped distributor assembly, the material which is deposited upon the internal conical surface of the distributor, will,

. due to the effect of centrifugal force upon the and II. This sleeve is provided with a keyway 45, enabling a. main drive gear 41 to be keyed thereto, the same being maintained in-spaced relationship to the front bearing l by a spacing collar 49 surrounding the sleeve.

Power is transmittedto the main drive gear 41 through a pinion 5| carried by a pinion shaft 7 53 supported between the front and rear walls of the casing on bearing assemblies 55 and 51 carried thereby, such shaft being keyed to an external pulley 59 or other means for deriving power from some suitable prime mover, such as a motor or engine.

Located within the die chamber are a pair of extrusion rollers 6| for cooperating with the die in the extrusion of moldable material through the die openings. These rollers are mounted within a horizontally disposed cage comprising front and rear end plates 63 and 65 respectively,

which serve to carry the spindles 61 about which the rollers revolve.

keyed therein to prevent rotational movement of the shaft. The shaft extends slightly beyond this central hub to accommodate a tightening nut 11.

The front end plate 63 of the roller cage as- The rear end plate has a thickened central portion 69 which is keyed to av material so deposited, be carried around by the distributor and traverse a spiral path as the material approaches the discharge edge of the distributor. Thelower half of the die chambergbelow the roller assembly, receives its share of the distributor output directly from the discharge edge of the distributor. This material is carried up by the die between the converging surfaces of the die and that roller toward which the lower die section moves, where it will be acted upon by such roller and. extruded through the die openings. Such raising of the material by the die is aided by the centrifugal force imparted to the material in the rotation of the die.

To assure a plentiful supply of material to the upper portion of the die chamber, where it may be acted. upon by the other roller of the assembly, I provide a feed guide 89 having the form illustrated in Figure 9. This feed guide comprises a floor section 9| and an upwardly directed flange 93, and'has integrally formed therewith,

a perforated depending mounting flange for attaching the feed guide to the upper edge of the front end plate 63 of the roller cage. The up-' wardly directed flange is inclined toward and extends within the conical shaped distributor member 85, each point on the edge of this flange lying approximately in an imaginary cone surface concentric with the cone distributor and approaching closely adjacent thereto. A portion 91 of this flange has its edge equi-distant at all points from the base of the distributor, while another portion 99 thereof is directed inwardly toward the apex of this distributor member. In as much as its edge terminates closely adjacent the interior surface of the distributor member, as pre-- viously mentioned, the portion 99 will serve as a scraper and deflector for the matarial which is being carried upon the surface of the distributor member. Such material as is thus removed by the portion 99 is deflected thereby toward the converging surfaces of the die ring; and the roller, and in this it is aided by the first portion 91 of the upwardly directed flange, whichcooperates with the fioorsection 9i and the rear portion of the chamber to form a guide trough or pocket and prevent the material from spilling back into the conical distributor member and dropping down between the components of the roller assembly.

While the centrifugal force developed by the rotation of the distributing member 85 is sufficient to enable this member to function with a smooth interior surface, the'liftlng of the material by this distributor may be enhanced somewhat by providing the inner surface thereof with a plurality of spirally disposed ribs I] or corresponding raised surfaces.

In asmuch as the material fed to the mill has a certain amount of abrasive characteristics which may do considerable damage to bearings and other sensitive, parts of the machine, if continually exposed thereto, it becomes highly desirable to take every precaution in keeping the material from gaining access to these parts of the machine, and this is particularly true of the main bearing assemblies 9 and 13 of the machine under discussion. As a means for preventing the material, which is carried into the die chamber, from gaining access to these bearing assemblies,

I make the rear end plate 65 into the form of a disk insert I03 in the front face of the driving disk 23. This disk insert has formed on its periphery a plurality of spiral ribs I05 which closely fit against the driving disk, yet permitting rotation of the driving disk with respect to this insert I03. In operation, material tending to filter through the grooves between the-spiral ribs on the rim surface of this disk insert, will be prethrough the front end plate 63, and mounting eluded from passing therethrough by the action of the spiral ribs upon the moving material.

It has been found, in mills of the above general character wherein operation depends upon relative movement between a roller and a cylindrical die, that the material fed to the die chamber has a tendency to pack into the rear peripheral corner of the chamber to a substantial thickness, sufficient to subject the roller assembly to excessive axial strains and stresses and impede to'pack as has been the case previously.

After prolonged use of the machine, the rollers and the die begin to show signs of wear, resultingin too great a clearance between the rollers andthe die, for proper extrusion operation. To compensate for this, I make the rollers adjustable with respect to the die, thus enabling them to be shifted closer to the die surfacefl to take up for such wear. This I accomplish by ,making the roller supporting portion I09 of each spindle 61 of enlarged cross section and eccentric to the spindle axis :c-::: (Figure 5), and then provide means for angularly' adjusting this eccentric portion of the spindle, whereby the axis of the roller may be shifted within limits sufficient to position, the material is not given an opportunity I take care of any wear which might occur as a resuit offoperation of the machine.-

This adjustment is realized by providing each These gear sectors are engaged by a common control and locking pinion II5 which is rotationally mounted on the reduced end 19 of the main shaft II, and has an integral radially extending control finger III. This control finger is locked in position between the heads of two adjusting screws H9 and I 2| respectively, which are suitably threaded through bosses I23 and I25 respectively, formed on the front end plate of the roller cage assembly. In adjusting the rollers for wear, one of the adjusting screws is backed away from the locking gear finger in the direction it is desired to adjust, thus permitting the locking pinion to be rotated by following up with the other adjusting screw sufiiciently to bring the rollers into proper cooperative engagement with the die. When the proper adjustment has been made, the first screw is then reversely rotated to bring it back into engagement with. the locking gear finger to thereafter prevent accidental shifting of the adjusting mechanism.

In mills of the character above described, it is a very desirable thing to isolate the material under extrusion and the lubricant employed in 'maintaining the parts in proper working order.

The desirability of keeping the material out of the bearings, in view of the abrasive character of such material, has already been commented on. In view of the fact that material to be extruded usually constitutes a feed for poultry or livestock, chemical mixtures or combinations, or any of a variety of other materials, it is just as desirable to prevent such material from bethe fact that the roller assembly and main shaft are maintained fixed and stationary, has enabled me to incorporate into the machine a lubricating system which will enable proper lubrication of the essential parts of the machine, and more particularly the roller assembly, as often as necessary, and what is quite important, without the necessity ofshutting down the machine for such lubrication service. At the same time, the lubricating system satisfactorily solves the problem of realizing proper lubrication without any danger of the lubricant mixing with the feed material.

A longitudinal bore I2! is provided from the rear end of the main shaft TI to a point just short of the front end thereof, and through this bore are extended a pair of lubrication feed lines I29. The rear end of the shaft is capped with a closure I3I, and ,each of these lines I29 terminates in a fitting I33 mounted on the closure HI, and preferably of the type adapted to take a grease gun. At the front end, each of the lubrication feed lines is brought out from the shaft, radially, and terminates in a fitting I35 adapted for connection to an additional section I31 of line of a length suflicient to reach the extended end III of a roller spindle and allow for the incorporation of an expansion loop I39. therein.

The extended end III of each roller spindle is also provided with a fitting for effecting a connection to the free end of this lubrication feed line section I31, and-constitutes the inlet end of a bore MI which extendsthrough the spindle from this fitting to approximately midway of the eccentric portion I09, where it connects radially to a circumferential groove I43 formed in this eccentric portion of the spindle.

The eccentric portion of the spindle is surrounded about the central portion thereof by a split roller bearing race I44 having bevelled edges extension I5I of reduced diameter which rotatably fits into an end cap I53. These end caps are aflixed to the eccentric portion of the spindle, thereby permitting relative rotation between the roller and such end caps. Annular -spaces are formed in the roller between the retaining walls I49 and the end caps I53, in which are located suitable sealing rings I55 of any well known design or construction.

In order to lubricate the rollers, it will be noted that the oil or grease is applied at the rear end of the main shaft, which is remote from the roller assembly and outside of the extrusion chamber. From the point of application of the grease or oil and up to the hearing assembly within the roller, the lubricating system is entirely closed and sealed, leaving no room for escape of lubricant within the extrusion compartment, where it may contaminate the material under extrusion.

A radial bore through the wall of the shaft 'II, at the location of the shaft bearing I, enables lubrication of this hearing from within the shaft bore I21, and a fitting I58 is mounted on the shaft cap I3I for this purpose.

aacdoeo provided with a reduced cross section intermediate the boss I1 and the shear pin flange I9, the

reduction being such as to cause the pin to shear at this point when the stresses developed within the extruding compartment begins to approach a value which is apt to result in damage to the machine. Upon such shearing of the pin, the rear wall bearing assembly is no longer fixed against rotation, thereby permitting the roller assembly to revolve along with the die, and in this manner the elements within the extrusion chamber are relieved ofall stress. After the troublesome condition has been remedied, the roller assembly can be rotated to its fixed horizontal'operative position, and a new shear pin can be inserted, to again fix the rear wall bearing assembly and the roller assembly against rotation.

A thin wall casing IBI surrounding the extrusion chamber and enclosing a portion of the cone distributor member, terminates below the extrusion chamber in a discharge hopper (not illustrated) for collecting the material as it is extruded and severed from the die.

It will be apparent. from the above detailed description of a preferred form of my invention,

.Prior to reaching the converging surfaces of a the die and each roller, the material is intercepted by a plow I56 adjustably mounted on the front end plate 63, which functions to level out the material to a uniform thickness before extrusion, thus assuring uniformity in the extruded product in addition to a more efiicient functioning of the machine.

The material, as it is extruded, is sliced off to proper length by a pair of severing knives I51, each supported upon an adjustable bracket I59, with the severing edge bearing against the outer surface of the'die 21. While I have described the die openings 29 as being radial, it is within the contemplated scope of my invention to dispose these die openings with their axes such that the outlet end of each opening will trail the input end during rotation of the die, as is alternatively illustrated in a portion of Figure 3, at I60, and when such is the case, the severing edges of the knives will face the approaching trailing outlet openings of the die.

In the event, as it sometimes accidentally happens, foreign material, such as tramp iron,

should find its way into the machine with the feed, it will be apparent that 'under such conditions, the rollers and die will be subjected to stresses way beyond those contemplated for normal operation, and which are very likelyto cause considerable damage to either of "these parts. The shear pin I5, previously described, will operate as a safety device to prevent damage to the rollers or die from such-cause. The shear pin is that it will fulfill all the objects of my invention, as previously expressed. While I have described the same in detail, my invention is subject to various changes andembodiments, without departing from the principles thereof, and I accordingly do not desire to be limited in my protection to such details of construction as above described, except as may be necessitated by the prior art and the appended claims.

I claim:

1. In an extrusion mill of the class described, a perforated die ring, means for supporting said die ring, a plurality of spindles spaced from a face of said die ring and each having a bearing surface eccentric to the axis of the spindle, a roller rotatable on each said bearing surface and cooperative with said die ring for compressing and forcing material through the perforations thereof upon relative movement between said die ring and said roller, means for causing said relative movement, and means for simultaneously adjusting said spindles angularly, each about its own axis, to vary the rotating positions of said rollers with respect to said die ring.

2. In an extrusion mill of the class described,

'fixed position, means for rotating said ring mem-' ber, and means responsive to a predetermined stress on said extrusion member for releasing said supporting means whereby said extrusion member is free to move with said ring member.

3. In an extrusion mill of the class described, a frame, a sleeve mounted for rotation in said frame, a perforated die ring carried by and rotatable with said sleeve, a shaft disposed longitudinally of said sleeve, a roller carried by one end of said shaft and disposed for cooperation with the inner face of said die ring for extruding material through the perforations thereof upon rotation of said die ring, a bearing block journaled for rotation in said frame and supporting the other end of said shaft, means connected with said'frame for normally preventin rotation of said bearing block, said means being responsive to a predetermined stress on said shaft for releasing said bearing block for rotation, and means for rotating said sleeve and die ring.

4. In an extrusion mill of the class described, a perforated-die ring, means supporting said die ring with its axis substantially horizontal, extrusion means disposed adjacent the inner face ofsaid die ring for compressing and forcing material through the perforations thereof upon relative movement between said die ring and extrusion means, means for causing said relative movement, and material guide means comprising a funnel-shaped member having its larger end substantially spanning one end of said die ring and its smaller end adapted to receive material for distribution through said funnel-shaped member toward the inner face of said die ring.

5. In an extrusion mill of the class described, a perforated die ring, means supporting said die ring with its axis substantially horizontal, ex-

trusion means disposed adjacent the inner face of said die ring for compressing and forcing material through the perforations thereof upon relative movement between said die ring and extrusion means, means for causing said relative movement, rotatable means comprising a funnelshaped member having its larger end substantially spanning one end of said die ring and its smaller end adapted to receive material for distribution through said funnel-shaped member toward the inner face of said die ring, means supported within the upper half of said die for receiving material from said funnel-shaped member and directing it toward the pocket formed between said die and said extension means, said material receiving and directing means including a guide surface extending from within said funnel-shaped member 'to a point above said extrusion means.

6. In an extrusion mill of the class described, a perforated die ring, means supporting said die ring with its axis substantially horizontal, extrusion means disposed adjacent the inner face of said die ring and adapted to extrude material through the perforations thereof upon rotation of said die ring, means for rotating said die ring, material guide means comprising a conicalshaped member having its larger end substantially overlying one end of said die ring and adapted to urge material received thereby toward the inner periphery of said die ring upon rotation of said guide means, means for mounting said guide means for rotation with saiddie ring, means supported within the upper half of said die for receiving material from said conicalshaped member and directing it toward the pocket formed between said die and said extrusion means, said material receiving and directing means including a guide surface extending from for extruding material through the perforations thereof upon rotation of said die ring, means for centrifugally distributing material toward the inner face of said die ring, and means disposed adjacent the inner face of said die ring and having a surface adapted to receive a portion of said material and direct the same toward the converging faces of said die ring and roller.

9. In an extrusion mill of the class described, a vertically positioned perforated die ring, a pair of rollers fixedly disposed in a horizontal plane within said die ring and adapted to compress and force material through the perforations thereof upon rotation of said die ring, means for rotating said die ring, means for receiving and distributing material toward the lower portion of the inner face of'said die ring, and means for collecting from said last means. a portion of such received material and guiding the same toward the converging surfaces of one of said rollers and ber bounded at least in part by an extrusion die,

a shaft extending into saidextrusion chamber,

a rotatable extrusion member having a bearing within said conical-shaped member to a point above said extrusion means.

7. In an extrusion mill of the classdescribed, a perforated die ring, extrusion means disposed adjacent the inner face of said die ring and adapted to extrude material through the perforations thereof upon rotation of said die ring, means for rotating said die ring, and rotatable means comprising a-conical-shaped member ovcrlying one end of said die ring for distributing and supported adjacent the chamber end of said shaft in cooperative relation to said die and in radial ofiset relationship to said shaft, said shaft having a conveniently accessible end beyond said chamber and remote from said extrusion member, and a lubricating system for said extrusion member extending longitudinally through said shaft from said remote end thereof and includ ing a lubrication feed line from said shaft to the bearing of said rotatable extrusion member.

11. In an extrusion mill, an extrusion chamber bounded at least in part by a cylindrical die, a fixed shaft extending into said chamber, an extrusion roller supported by and adjacent the chamber end of said fixed shaft but spaced radially therefrom, said shaft having its other end conveniently accessible and remote from said roller, and a lubricating system for said roller extending longitudinally through said shaft from said remote end and including a lubrication feed line from the chamber end of saidshaft to said from said roller, and a lubricating system for said rollers comprising a pair of lubrication feed lines extending longitudinally through said shaft from said remote end, each of said feed lines emerging from the chamber end of said shaft and connecting to one of said rollers.

13. In an extrusion mill, a casing having spaced parallel walls, a sleeve rotatably supported in a horizontal position between said walls, an extrusion chamber carried adjacent one end of said sleeve and including a die, a shaft extending longitudinally through said sleeve into said extrusion chamber and supported independently of said sleeve at least at one end for enabling ro-' ation of said sleeve relative to said shaft, an extrusion member carried by the chamber end of said shaft in cooperative relationship with said die, and means for rotating said sleeve to the exclusion of said shaft.

14. In an extrusion mill, an extrusion chamber including a die, extrusion means adapted to extrude moldable material through said die upon relative movement between said die and said extrusion means and disposed adjacent to but out of contact with a wall of said chamber which is normal to the surface of said die, and scraping means disposed more closely-adjacent said wall than said extrusion means and movable over the surface of said wallin response to relative motion between said extrusion means and said die topreclude packing of such material between said wall and said extrusion means.

15. In an extrusion mill, an extrusion cham-- ber including a cylindrical die and a vertical end wall, an extrusion roller supported adjacent to but out of contact with said end wall and in operative engagement with said die,-means for rotating said chamber with respect to said roller, and means for precluding packing of material between said end wall and the adjacent side wall of said roller comprising a scraper supported ahead'of said roller and in substantially scraping engagement with said end wall, whereby increments of said end wall will be scraped before passing said roller.

16. In a machine for the extrusion of material through a die, a horizontally disposed chamber formed at least in part by a circular die and having an end wall, a pair of extrusion members fixedly supported on a common horizontal axis within said chamber and in extrusion relationship to said circular die, means for rotating said die and means for feeding moldable material ingear sectors through an to said chamber through a substantially central opening in said end .wall.

17. In an extrusion mill, a die of the cylindrical type, a plurality of rollers, a plurality of spindles, each supporting a roller on an axis offset with respect to the axis of said spindle and in working engagement with a surface of said die, a gear sector associated with each of said spindles, and a pinion common to said gear sectors and meshing therewith to enable simultaneous and corresponding angular rotation of said gear sectors through adjustment of said pinion whereby to obtain simultaneous and corresponding ad- Justment of said rollers with respect-to said surface of the die.

18. In an extrusion mill, a cylindrical type die, a plurality of spindles supported within said die at substantially the same radial distance from the internal compression surface of said die, each of said spindles having an offset associated therewith, and capable of being rotated through an are about the axis of such spindle, a roller mounted for rotation about each .of said offsets and in extrusion relationship with the internal surface of said die, a gear sector mounted on each of said spindles and adapted to move said offset along such are in accordance with. angular rotation of said gear sector, a gear lying intermediate said plurality of gear sectors and in meshing engagement with the same, and means for rotating said intermediate gear to simultaneously move said angle sufficient to adjust the extrusion relationship of said rollers with respect to said die.

EDGAR T. MEAKIN. 

